Recently Read

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke

This book surely must hold the record for longest time it took me to complete reading any work.

Does that mean it’s an awful book? Hardly. In fact, Clarke’s premiere novel delivers an excellent story told with plenty of sharp, witty writing. While the novel has a handful of inherent weaknesses that make for slow going, the bulk of my lengthy fulfillment time derived from my own extenuating circumstances. Had I not chosen to start reading this book just as I was in the midst of working full time (for the first time in ages), and at the same time trying to follow the baseball playoffs, surely this tale of two Georgian gentlemen and their efforts to revive English magic would have held my interest much more deeply than it did.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke

The basics of the tale--how the owlish Mr Norrell achieves prominence as the wizard who brings magic back to the forefront of English life (in the midst of the Napoleonic wars, no less); all that comes of the thaumaturgical efforts of both Norrell and his brilliant student, Jonathan Strange; and the consequences of the magicians’ spells, for both themselves and others within their orbit--provide more than enough grist for an imaginative, enchanting literary mill.


Of course, one must also admire the cheek of a first-time author such as Clarke writing a work about English magic in the post-Rowling world (this book was published in 2004, just as the Harry Potter series was winding down). That Clarke draws up her story so comprehensively, building an entire magical history of England all the way back to the early years of the last millenium--the days of her fabled “Raven King”--bears a touch of a challenge. “Two can play at this game,” Clarke seems to say, and one is tempted to label hers the greater accomplishment, since Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is no children’s book; indeed, it takes an accomplished adult reader to appreciate all of its subtle and intricate pleasures.

It must be noted, however, that the high entry bar also brings problems of its own. For one thing, it takes an adult to read this book simply by virtue of the need for grown-up strength to lift it; checking in at well over 700 pages, Clarke’s book is a bona fide tome. Like the later Potter stories, Clarke’s novel suffers from a lack of editing; much of what is said could have been said far fewer words, and few would have had cause to complain. The author’s comprehensive imagination also causes some of the trouble; Clarke’s narrative is liberally footnoted with long excursions through her magical history. Many of these footnotes cross over from one page to the next, sometimes taking up nearly an entire page in their own right. While these interludes provide many humorous and entertaining diversions, they also break the flow of the narrative. Some of the long reading time could have been reduced if there were fewer detours at the bottom of these pages, however interesting they may have been.

The narrative itself, in its early chapters, could use a little streamlining as well. It is notable that, when the text reaches its final third--when the action really picks up, and things actually start happening--that’s when the narrative shifts from amusing diversion to exciting, can’t-put-it-down story. Once the consequences of Norrell’s and Strange’s spell-making start coming home to roost, then we see the author start to catch lightning in a bottle. The final 250 pages of the novel blaze by, in sharp contrast to the amusing but leisurely pace dictated by all the preceding chapters.

Still, the journey is ultimately worth it. Any reader who enjoys a clever work about the fantastical will be well served by picking up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Just be sure you have strong arms to lift its literary heft, and give yourself plenty of time to get to the most satisfying payoff.